In homes, commercial establishments and institutional establishments, various types of faucets and pre-rinse assemblies have been utilized over the years to rinse food preparation and service implements such as dishes, utensils, pots and pans. The pre-rinse assemblies are generally mounted adjacent to a sink on a wall or a countertop in order to facilitate easy access and use by a dishwasher to manually spray water on the items to be rinsed or cleaned. The vast majority of pre-rinse assemblies employ a spray head which is attached to a flexible hose assembly which conveys water from a riser pipe in order to deliver a spray of water onto the soiled utensils, dishes, pots and pans.
Pre-rinse assemblies do suffer from a major drawback which is the fact that they must be manually directed and held in place by a user onto a specific object or section of a sink. When a dishwasher operates a pre-rinse assembly, he or she simply grabs the spray head, turns on the flow of water, and manually directs the spray of water at the object which is to be rinsed or washed. When the dishwasher has finished using the pre-rinse assembly, they simply let go of the spray head and gravity takes over and returns the spray head to a hanging position below the flexible hose. Some pre-rinse assemblies also include a small hook on or near the riser pipe in order to secure the flexible hose and to keep the spray head out of the way while a sink is used for other activities.
However, none of the pre-rinse assemblies allow a user to manipulate a spray head into a position and then release the spray head and keep it in that position, resulting in a hands-free pre-rinse assembly. Hence, there exists an unsatisfied need for a pre-rinse assembly which may be manipulated into a position and then released while remaining in that position and allowing for hands-free operation of that assembly.